High School Sports |
St. Pius X-St. Matthias boys basketball tops JSerra in Open Division playoffs

St. Pius X's Tyrone Riley finished with a team-high 22 points

St. Pius X-St. Matthias senior guard Tyrone Riley led the Warriors to their second win in the Open Division playoffs against JSerra at Warren High School in Downey on Friday, Feb. 16. (Photo by Chris Camello)
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

DOWNEY — The St. Pius X-St. Matthias boys basketball team used a balanced attack on both ends to wear down JSerra for a 70-58 win in round three of the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs Friday night.

The Warriors, who improved to 24-6 overall, finished 2-1 in the Open Division bracket.

They were led by senior guard Tyrone Riley (University of San Francisco signee), who scored a team-high 22 points along with eight rebounds and three assists. Junior center Douglas Langford added 15 points, five rebounds, and two steals.

Both teams got off to hot starts and the Lions led 18-17 after the first quarter. They built a four-point lead in the early minutes of the second. St. Pius X clamped down defensively and went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good, holding JSerra (25-6, 1-2 Open Division) to just 11 points in the second quarter.

The Warriors never lost their grip on the game that was played at Warren High School.

Riley said sticking to the game plan allowed the Warriors to take control before halftime.

“We just had to stay locked in, stay poised,” Riley said. “(In the) first quarter, we let 15 (Aidan Fowler) get a little hot, get his little pull-up (jumpers) going. Once we stayed to the game plan, ran him off, close out hard, get the ball out of his hands, they started turning the ball over, we started running, playing our game, and they couldn’t keep up. That’s when we got our lead.”

St. Pius X-St. Matthias coach Donte Archie said his team was able to seize control with sustained defensive intensity.

“We just put pressure on them consistently every quarter, trying to wear them down quarter by quarter,” Archie said. “I think we did a good job of that. We got into the passing lane on some passes and got some steals and just being physical. I think that worked for us.”

Another X factor for the Warriors was senior point guard David Mack, who made several hustle plays and filled out the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

“I was just doing whatever I could to make a difference for my team so we could win,” Mack said. “Just being the point guard, getting my teammates open, that’s what was working for me in the first quarter. I was just feeding off of that to help them score in the second half.”

Riley said the Warriors are a different team when Mack is aggressive as a two-way player.

“It changes us, because he’s a big piece to our game,” Riley said. “When he’s rolling, the whole team is rolling and it’s hard to beat us. We’re like a freight train…we can go score with anybody, especially him. He gets out, he’s scrappy, he gets the boards, he gets the assists, and he’s a nice facilitator, a nice point guard for us. He contributed a lot today.”

JSerra was led by senior forward Sebastian Rancik (Colorado signee), who had 22 points and added three blocks. He scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, trying to keep JSerra in it, but it wasn’t enough. Fowler added 15 points and three assists.

More in High School Sports